The Moffat County High School girls varsity basketball team will suit up for the final time in 2011 this weekend during the Black Canyon Classic at Montrose High School.
The Bulldogs will have a break in their schedule for the holidays before picking back up Jan. 5 against Central Grand Junction High School.
Head coach Matt Ray said it’s important for his team to head into the break with confidence.
“It is pretty important that we play well so we can go into the break on a high note,” he said. “If they play well this weekend, it will be encouraging and they will keep working hard as we head into January.”

The Village Inn in Craig was nearly empty at 6 a.m. on a cold Thursday morning.
Thom Schnellinger, Moffat County High School principal, sat alone at a booth, with a sign on the table announcing his purpose at the restaurant.
“Join me for coffee,” it reads.
Welcome to the second session of Coffee With the Principal, a regular event Schnellinger started this month in an effort to gather feedback from parents and the public.

It’s not unusual to see an evergreen decked with shiny balls of red, blue, gold, silver and other colors during the holiday season.
While such decorations may have special meanings for people, the ornaments hanging from the boughs of the tree at the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association in Craig mean a whole lot.
The VNA’s fifth annual Celebration of Life Tree event offered residents an opportunity to slow down from the fast-paced holiday fervor and take some time to remember those that they won’t be seeing in person at Christmas.

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) — A CIA contractor involved in a fatal shootout in Pakistan will face trial on assault charges stemming from a fight over a parking space in Colorado, a judge ruled Thursday.
Raymond Davis, 37, of Highlands Ranch, was charged with felony second-degree assault and misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the altercation outside a bagel shop on Oct. 1. He was accused of causing a vertebrae fracture and other injuries to Jeffrey Maes.
Davis’ attorney William Frankfurt argued that Maes injured himself when he allegedly tried to tackle Davis during the altercation, and disputed that Maes had a broken back.
Prosecutor Rich Orman argued that despite conflicting witness statements, he asked Arapahoe County Judge Susanna Meissner-Cutler to put Davis on trial based on Davis’ alleged admission that he hit Maes first, according to testimony during the preliminary hearing.

The West is recovering faster than the nation as a whole, but employment across the region remained far below pre-recession levels and the housing market showed few signs of improvement, according to an economic report released Thursday.
The report prepared by Brookings Mountain West researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas focused on economic growth in 10 metropolitan areas spread across Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Idaho.
Overall, the region saw a modest 0.3 percent growth in employment in the quarter ending in September, compared to the national rate of 0.1 percent, the study found. Utah, Colorado and New Mexico — states that have built broad economic bases — struggled the least, researchers said. In Arizona and Nevada, the housing collapse continued to limit job growth.
“We don’t have a robust, steady recovery yet,” said Mark Muro, policy director for the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. “The real estate crack up continues to have a severe influence on the places that struggle with it.”

Tim Tebow has tried everything else. Now, he’s going to set his alarm for the crack of dawn.
Maybe the early bird will get the offense rolling.
With the Denver Broncos relying on his last-minute magic to pull off six comebacks in the eight games he’s started, Tebow joked that maybe he should arrive at the stadium even earlier than he already does on game days, perhaps toss a few more pregame passes than usual.
He’s open to anything to try to find his rhythm sometime before halftime instead of well after.
A faster start may definitely be needed with Tom Brady leading the high-scoring New England Patriots (10-3) into Denver for a showdown with the resurgent Broncos (8-5) on Sunday.

The annual Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot will take place Saturday at Sandrock Elementary School, 201 E. Ninth St.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the event is free for all shooters. The competition begins at 9 a.m.
There are three age groups — 8- and 9-year-olds, 10- and 11-year-olds, and 12- and 13-year-olds.
The competition will consist of two rounds, with shooters shooting 10 free throws in the first round and 15 in the second round.

9 to 11 a.m. Playgroup for toddler/preschool-age children takes place at the Early Childhood Development Preschool at the Moffat County School District administrative building, 775 Yampa Ave. Call Carissa at 826-9742.
11:30 a.m. Commitment to Excellence meets in the conference room of Mountain West Insurance and Financial Services, 100 E. Victory Way. The group is designed to improve local education.
1 to 4 p.m. Free crochet classes are offered at 655 Ranney St. Call Mary Walters at 824-2923.
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous meets at St. Michael Catholic Church, 678 School St. Call Megan at 756-4554.

Santa Claus has asked the Craig Daily Press to help him gather Christmas letters. Bring your letter, which should include your first name and age, to the newspaper at 466 Yampa Ave.
The letters will be printed in the Dec. 24 issue of the Saturday Morning Press and will be accepted until 5 p.m. Dec. 23.

In a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine, the editor bragged about his mother’s pies.
“The best on the North American continent,” he wrote.
I reacted with righteous indignation: obviously, the deprived fellow had never tasted my mother’s pies. Perhaps he should sample more widely before making such a misguided statement.
But, I forgave him for declaring a winner without sponsoring a contest when he added that others might think their mothers baked the world’s best pie, too. And, they’d be right, because “Pie is one of those foods properly made with love, not just skill, and whose goodness is, in the end, privately understood.”